Wild encounters: Discover the hidden charms of the Gold Coast hinterland

Want to talk to the animals? Head off on a safari around the Scenic Rim.

Deepest apologies to my new alpaca friend in South-East Queensland: I honestly thought your name was Pipsy. My creamy-fleeced alpaca, one of a 50-strong herd at Mountview Alpaca Farm tucked into a Gold Coast hinterland vineyard, doesn't bat a long eyelash as I continue misaddressing her.

She goes along with it, letting me lead her to the banks of burbling Canungra Creek and tickling my palm as she nibbles the pellets I offer along the way. Our farm walk is almost over when I flip her name-tag around and - uh-oh - it turns out the snaggle-toothed, mop-topped, freshly shorn creature I've been communing with is called Pixie. I wasn't listening properly when we were introduced.

Pixie doesn't care. In fact, her sweet disposition has landed her a place on the farm's alpaca therapy crew, which visits hospitals, aged-care facilities and other places to spread warm and fuzzy vibes. But today, she's keeping visitors company on a stroll around the lawns (these alpaca walks can also be combined with a picnic, pizza or pinot gris from the nearby vineyard homestead). Some of Pixie's peers have been given celebrity-inspired names (such as Brad Spit and, for the resident ranga, Ed Sheeran) while others such as Blizzard are famously "photogenic" while Bluey is "extra cuddly".

More cuddles (and a whole lot of slobber) are on offer if you wind your way up nearby Tamborine Mountain to reach the historic St Bernards Hotel. The promise in its name is delivered, namely in the shape of a trio of St Bernard dogs - Cooper, Syrah and a one-year-old floof named Norman, all as tall as the dining tables. I'm here for dinner but during the day the back deck offers eye-boggling views of emerald valleys and peaks. Tamborine Mountain sits in the north-east corner of a vast region stretching to the NSW border formally known as the Scenic Rim following local government mergers in 2008.

It's a catchy, marketer's dream of a name for a dramatic, geologically ancient landscape rumpled with ranges and valleys cradling pockets of pristine rainforest. While still perched up on this eyrie, you can wander through a high rainforest canopy at Tamborine Rainforest Skywalk (also home to a colony of vulnerable Richmond birdwing butterflies) and perhaps hear the cackle of kookaburras and the scritch of cicadas. Before the Moore family embarked on the difficult project of building the Skywalk, they offered glow-worm tours on the property.

Nowadays, visitors can get their glow worm fix six kilometres away at Cedar Creek Estate's Glow Worm Caves. The North Tamborine winery built a temperature-controlled wet cave that provides perfect conditions for the local glow worm species. It's a strangely compelling experience to look up at a "constellation" of tiny overhead sparkles during the daytime.

The mountain also provides a free way to commune with nature. Tamborine National Park's short but challenging Curtis Falls track is surrounded by suburbia yet feels like a portal into paradise. As I wander beneath flooded gums and strangler figs, I spy lofty staghorn ferns, busy brush turkeys, a land mullet (a type of large skink) and, near the modest waterfall, an Australian water dragon basking on a log.

It's tempting to spend your entire holiday floating around this dreamy mountaintop but there are reasons to come back down to earth. Head north-west towards the inland regional city of Ipswich to find Summer Land Camels (pioneering filmmaker Charles Chauvel spent part of his youth on this property).

Tour what is Australia's largest camel dairy and - in between camel pats and pictures - learn about the production of camel milk, which the farm transforms into everything from cheese and gelato to vodka and camelcinos (served in the on-site Homestead Cafe).

In Ipswich, you can admire more furred and feathered creatures. The Ipswich Nature Centre tucked into Queens Park is home to swamp wallabies, kangaroos, eastern quolls, flying foxes and a free-flight aviary with rosellas, lorikeets and ground birds.

Finally, as the UN has declared 2024 the International Year of Camelids, it's fitting to wrap up your safari by meeting the residents of The Llama Farm, a 15-minute drive north of Ipswich. While the menagerie includes camels, donkeys and peacocks, the stars of this show are the 60 llamas (comprising Queensland's largest llama herd).

Owner Shane Hancock spends time explaining the difference between alpacas and llamas (for starters, llama ears are curved like bananas). He's also keen to clear up misconceptions about their personality, saying "they're just like a giant dog". As you set off on a stroll down to a quiet stretch of the Brisbane River with your own llama on a leash, you'll understand what he means.

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Getting there: Pick up a hire car from the Gold Coast airport and head to the hinterland. Roads can be narrow and windy so allow plenty of time to reach your Scenic Rim destination. goldcoastairport.com.au

Staying there: Tamborine Mountain's Verandah House Country Estate, with extraordinary views stretching all the way to the Gold Coast's glitter strip, has terrace suites starting from $549 a night. vhcountryestate.com.au

While there: Mountview Alpaca Farm (mountviewfarm.com.au), 60 kilometres from Gold Coast airport and located within O'Reilly's Canungra Valley Vineyards, offers a range of alpaca experiences from $24.50 a person. Tamborine Rainforest Skywalk (skywalktamborine.com) is open daily; Glow Worm Caves (tamborineglowworms.com.au) offers daily guided cave tours that include access to Frog Hollow (an enclosed native frog house); fees apply. It's free to visit the camels at Summer Land Camels (summerlandcamels.com.au), a farm tour costs $25 for adults, $15 for children, camel rides from $33, open daily. Ipswich Nature Centre (ipswich.qld.gov.au) is open Tuesday to Sunday, free entry. The Llama Farm (thellamafarm.com.au), at Pine Mountain, offers two-hour guided llama walks by appointment, $55 a person.

Explore more: queensland.com; visitscenicrim.com.au

The writer was a guest of Tourism and Events Queensland.